The present invention relates to a cup holding device for a vehicle for holding a drink container, such as can, cup, paper pack and small bottle (hereinafter referred to generally as xe2x80x9ccupxe2x80x9d), to be installed in a compartment of an automobile, train, vessel, airplane and the like.
Among cup holding devices, there have been proposed many cup holding devices wherein the cup holding devices are attached vertically with respect to portions to be attached. Relating to the present invention, there has been proposed a cup holding device as shown in FIG. 9, i.e. Japanese Patent No. 2610788. A cup holding device 50 as shown in FIG. 9 includes a vertically disposed base member 51; a lid member 52 supported at a lower end side of the base member 51 and shifted from a closed position closely contacting the base member 51 to an open position tilted between the base member 51 and itself; and a holding plate 53 assembled between the base member 51 and the lid member 52 and having a holding hole 53a into which a cup k is inserted. One end of the holding plate 53 is rotatably supported by the lid member 52 and the other end thereof is assembled with respect to the base member 51 to vertically move through fitting of guiding grooves 54 and pins 55.
In case the device is used, as shown in the drawing, when the lid member 52 is rotated to the open position, the holding plate 53 is transferred upward along the guiding grooves 54 to be disposed substantially horizontally. When the cup k is inserted into the holding hole 53a, the periphery of the cup k is held by an inner periphery of the holding hole 53a, and a bottom portion thereof is held by projections 56 provided at an inner side of the lid member 52. In the cup holding device 50, since the lid member 52 is rotated by an angle smaller than 90xc2x0 with respect to the base member 51 to take the open position, the projecting amount of the lid member in the compartment is reduced to thereby be superior in safety, and the space in the compartment can not be sacrificed in the using state.
In the above-described structure, since the bottom of the cup k is held only by the projections 56 provided at the inner side of the lid member 52, the stable holding of the cup k may be hampered due to vibrations of the vehicle. As measures for improving the structure, for example, when the projections 56 are widened in their surfaces, the thickness of the entire device is also increased, so that the device can not be made compact. Also, since the holding hole 53a is formed only in the holding plate 53, a length from the base member 51 to the forward end of the holding plate 53 in the using state becomes long, so that the open angle of the lid member 52 has to be set large in proportion to the length. Thus, in the conventional device, the space in the compartment has not been effectively used because the length of the lid member projecting into the compartment can not be further decreased, or a position in the compartment, to which the device is installed, is limited.
The present invention has been made to obviate the above defects, and an object of the invention is to provide a cup holding device for a vehicle, wherein even in case the open angle of the lid member in the using state is made smaller, the cup can be firmly stably held, so that the using condition of the cup holding device can be improved and there is no limitation in the installation position. Thus, the space in the compartment can be effectively used and the safety can be improved.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
In order to attain the above objects, in the present invention, a cup holding device for a vehicle includes a base member with an opening in a front portion thereof and vertically disposed with respect to a portion to be attached; a lid member supported at a lower end side of the base member to be rotatably shifted from a closed position where the lid member covers the base member to an open position in a using state where an angle between the lid member and the base member becomes large; and a holding member for holding a periphery of a cup and assembled between the base member and the lid member to be shifted from a vertically positioned housed state at the closed position of the lid member to a horizontally-positioned using state at the open position of the lid member. The base member and the lid member have receiving portions, respectively, disposed in the same level at the open position of the lid member to jointly receive thereon a bottom portion of the cup.
According to the above-described structure, at the open position of the lid member, since the receiving portion of the base member and the receiving portion of the lid member are disposed at substantially the same level, even in the structure wherein the open angle of the lid member is made smaller than 90xc2x0, the bottom of the cup can be jointly supported by the receiving portions to thereby hold the cup more safely. In this case, according to one aspect of the invention, the base member includes a notched portion at a part on the upper side thereof, and the receiving portion of the base member is formed on a lower inner side positioned right under the notched portion, so that the cup can enter the inside of the base member due to presence of the notched portion to thereby make the open angle of the lid member smaller to the extent such that the cup enters the inside of the base member in the using state.
Also, according to another aspect of the invention, in the cup holding device for the vehicle including the above-described prerequisite elements, the holding member constitutes a second holding portion in a substantially semi-circular arc shape, and the base member constitutes a first holding portion for holding the periphery of the cup together with the second holding portion.
According to the structure, at the open position of the lid member, the second holding portion of the holding member and the first holding portion of the base member are disposed in an opposed state. Thus, even in the structure wherein the open angle of the lid member becomes smaller than 90xc2x0, the periphery of the cup can be held together by both holding portions to thereby stably hold the cup. Thus, as described before, the open angle of the lid member in the using state can be made smaller in the degree such that the cup holding position enters the inside of the base member because of presence of the first holding portion.
In this case, according to a further aspect of the invention, the holding member includes a frame portion in a semi-circular arc shape for forming the second holding portion, and an arm portion projecting forward from an intermediate position of the frame portion at the open position of the lid member. Both ends of the frame member are fitted into guiding grooves vertically provided on both inner sides of the base member, and the arm portion is rotatably supported to the lid portion. Thus, the cup can be easily inserted into the frame portion, the weight of the device can be lightened, the holding member 4 can be stably operated, and the appearance characteristics of the device can be improved.
In the above-stated aspects of the invention, it is preferable to house the base member inside the lid member in view of the opening-closing operating ability and the appearance characteristics of the lid member. Also, according to a still further aspect of the invention, in view of the efficiency, in case there is provided an urging member disposed between the base member and the lid member to urge the lid member to the closed position or the open position by shifting the operation direction according to a rotation angle of the lid member, parts for constituting the cup holding device can be reduced to a minimum and the operation characteristics of the lid member can be improved.